Crossed Wires

Consumers are awash in offers for telecom offers. But is any of
it getting through to consumers? Not really, according to a study
by Wirthlin Worldwide. And what does get through is causing
confusion and very little brand awareness or loyalty. For example,
while 76 percent of Americans are aware of cell phones, and 97
percent of those use one, very few can name the industry leaders:
Verizon, Sprint PCS, and AT&T have unaided awareness levels of
only 25 percent, 22 percent, and 18 percent, respectively. And
loyalty, what's that? In the long-distance space, for instance, a
full 41 percent of consumers have switched providers in the past 12
months, the primary reason being cost (67 percent), followed by
discontent (16 percent).

TECH TALK

Just 12 percent of Americans are aware of wireless Internet, but
among those who are aware, almost three-quarters (72 percent) use
the technology.